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Use of information and communication technologies in small-scale dairy production systems in central Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2020

Juan de Dios García-Villegas ,
Anastacio García-Martínez ,
Carlos Manuel Arriaga-Jordán ,
Monica Elizama Ruiz-Torres ,
Adolfo Armando Rayas-Amor ,
Peter Dorward  and
Carlos Galdino Martínez-García Open the ORCID record for Carlos Galdino Martínez-García [Opens in a new window]
Juan de Dios García-Villegas
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Rurales (ICAR), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM), Campus el Cerrillo. El Cerrillo Piedras Blancas, C.P. 50090Toluca, Estado de México, México
Anastacio García-Martínez
Affiliation:
Centro Universitario UAEM Temascaltepec, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, México. Km. 67.5 Carretera Toluca-Tejupilco, Barrio de Santiago, Temascaltepec de González. C.P. 51300, Estado de México, México
Carlos Manuel Arriaga-Jordán
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Rurales (ICAR), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM), Campus el Cerrillo. El Cerrillo Piedras Blancas, C.P. 50090Toluca, Estado de México, México
Monica Elizama Ruiz-Torres
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Rurales (ICAR), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM), Campus el Cerrillo. El Cerrillo Piedras Blancas, C.P. 50090Toluca, Estado de México, México
Adolfo Armando Rayas-Amor
Affiliation:
División de Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Departamento de Ciencias de la Alimentación, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Lerma, Av. Hidalgo poniente No. 46 Colonia la Estación, 52006Lerma de Villada, Estado de México, México
Peter Dorward
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading. PO Box 237, ReadingRG6 6AR, UK
Carlos Galdino Martínez-García*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Rurales (ICAR), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM), Campus el Cerrillo. El Cerrillo Piedras Blancas, C.P. 50090Toluca, Estado de México, México
*
*Corresponding author. Email: cgmartinezg@uaemex.mx
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Abstract

The objective of the study was to characterize small-scale dairy production systems to identify the technological preferences according to the farmer and farm characteristics and to analyze the importance and role of the information communication technologies (ICTs) in the dissemination of information related to management and livestock activities. To collect the data, a survey was applied to 170 small-scale dairy farmers from central Mexico. To characterize the farms, a factor analysis (FA) and cluster analysis (CA) were performed. To compare and identify differences between groups, a Kruskal–Wallis test was conducted. Four factors that explain 70.93% of the accumulated variance were identified; these factors explain the use of technology, production characteristics, social connections, and use of ICTs. The cluster analysis identified four groups. Group 1 was integrated by farmers with more experience and the largest farms. Group 2 had higher studies and use of ICTs. Group 3 was formed by young farmers but had a low use of technology. Group 4 contained older farmers with a low use of technology. The young farmers with higher studies have begun to incorporate ICTs into their daily activities on the farm, as observed in Group 2. Smartphones were the most used and were considered important by the farmers of the four groups, since they enable interaction with other farmers and the dissemination of topics of interest related with the farm. In conclusion, four group of farmers were differentiated; therefore, different extension approaches should be implemented to take into account the preferences and the technologies considered most important for each group. The ICTs are emerging technologies among small-scale dairy farmers to communicate information related to livestock management, mainly by young farmers with studies of secondary, as observed in Group 2.

Keywords

Small-scale dairy productionTechnological importanceTransmission of informationICTsMexico
Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 56 , Issue 5 , October 2020 , pp. 767 - 779
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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